Kong Sham Western Highway (港深西部公路), which is a part of Route 10, connects Lam Tei in Tuen Mun (Yuen Long Highway of Route 9) with the entrance to the Shenzhen Bay Bridge at Ngau Hom Shek, Deep Bay, and is a three-lane dual two-lane highway of about 5.4 kilometres in length. [1]
History[]
As the three land boundary crossings at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok are approaching capacity, the Government has identified the need to construct a fourth land boundary crossing, namely the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor, to cope with the increasing cross-boundary traffic demand.
The new land boundary crossing connects the new Shenzhen Bay Port at Shekou in Shenzhen with Ngau Hom Shek in Yuen Long via the Deep Bay Link , a 5.4-kilometre dual three-lane trunk road from Ngau Hom Shek to the Yuen Long Highway via a new interchange at Lam Tei. The construction of Deep Bay Link was carried out in conjunction with the road widening works for the section of Yuen Long Highway between Lam Tei and Tan Kwai Tsuen, for which the Government issued a notice on 29 November 2002[2]. As a result of the above projects, the Government had to resume Fuk Hang Tsuen, Tsing Chuen Wai Tsuen in Tuen Mun and part of the villages in Yuen Long, covering an area of 72 hectares. On 15 July 2003, when the deadline for clearance was set, the Housing Department (HD) successfully completed the Deep Bay Link clearance exercise. [3]
Construction of the HK$4.59 billion Deep Bay Link commenced immediately and was completed by the end of 2006, and gazetted by the Lands Department as the Kong Sham Western Highway on 22 June the following year [1]. On the eve of the commissioning of the new cross-boundary link, the Community Chest organised the "Walk for a Million" on 5 November 2006 and 15 April 2007 at the Deep Bay Link and the Hong Kong - Shenzhen Western Corridor respectively. To transport participants to and from the venues, KMB operated the first bus route via this road - 67R - at that time.
The Kong Sham Western Highway and the Shenzhen Bay Bridge were eventually commissioned on 1 July 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty.
Structure[]
The Kong Sham Western Highway has a Ha Tsuen Interchange near Ha Tsuen, which provides access to Ha Tsuen Road, San Wai Sewage Treatment Works and Tin Ha Road. The section of highway north of the Ha Tsuen Interchange is a closed road. All vehicles (except taxis) entering this section must have a valid closed road permit, otherwise they must return to Tuen Mun or Yuen Long via the interchange. The speed limit on most sections of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Highway is 80 kilometres per hour or 100 kilometres per hour.
Exit locations[]
| Intersections of Kong Sham Western Highway (from south to north) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Exit no. | Intersection name | Connecting road(s) | Remarks |
 Shenzhen Bay Bridge
| |||
| Frontier Closed Area boundary line | |||
| 1 | Ha Tsuen Interchange | Ha Tsuen Road | Vehicles without permits must leave through this exit. |
| 3 |  Yuen Long Highway |
To/from Tuen Mun | |
Special traffic arrangements[]
When the average wind speed exceeds 65 kilometres per hour, the Shenzhen Bay Bridge will be completely closed, and all northbound vehicles (including buses) will have to turn back via the Ha Tsuen Interchange.[4]
After the road closure, except for Route B3X which will maintain limited service, all other Shenzhen West Express routes will be suspended. In case of road closure, buses may turn back to Tuen Mun or Yuen Long, and Citybus has already provided pre-recorded information on the temporary diversion of Shenzhen West Express routes in its bus stop announcement system.
Routes observed[]
All the following routes pass through the entire Kong Sham Western Highway in both directions.
| Information on bus routes passing through the Shenzhen Bay Bridge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Route | Origin | Destination | Service mode |
| NLB | B2 | Yuen Long Station | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service daily ● |
| NLB | B2P | Tin Shui Wai (Tin Tsz Estate) | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service daily ● |
| NLB | B2X | Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yiu Estate) | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service Saturdays and holidays whole-day ● |
| Citybus | B3 | Tuen Mun Ferry Pier | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service daily ● |
| Citybus | B3A | Shan King Estate | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service daily ● |
| Citybus | B3M | Shenzhen Bay Port | Tuen Mun Station (Circular) |
Service daily during daytime after Morning Peak Hours ● |
| Citybus | B3X | Tuen Mun Town Centre | Shenzhen Bay Port | Service daily after Morning Peak Hours ● |
On the other hand, New Territories GMB Routes 618, 618A and 618B only passes through the section of Kong Sham Western Highway to the north of Ha Tsuen Interchange in both directions, and it is the only GMB route currently using this road.
Gallery[]
Notes and References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 G.N. 4056, "Lands Department: Street Naming", The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Gazette, Volume 11, Issue 25, 22 June 2007
- ↑ HKSARG, "Deep Bay Link and Widening of a Section of Yuen Long Highway Authorized" [Presss Release], 27 November 2002.
- ↑ "后海灣幹線清拆行動大功告成" (Demolition of houses for Deep Bay Link completed successfully), Publication of the Housing Authority, 8 August 2003
- ↑ Driving on Shenzhen Bay Bridge (Transport Department)
Related Articles[]
Deep Bay Link
External Links[]
- Deep Bay Link, Highways Department.
Template:Hong Kong Strategic Routes